Morning & Afternoon
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day 929a: It's moving day for both Shelby & Beth and Emmett & Joanie, and it's going to take all of them to get through it.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 44th cycle. Now cycle 45!_

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_**INTRODUCING "CHEAT SHEET" - **If you want to know ahead of time when a certain series will be updated next, just reassemble the link below and check out the list, save it, print it, bookmark it, whatever you need!  
Go to: gleekathon [dot] tumblr [dot] com [slash] cheatsheet_

_** UPDATED WITH CYCLE 45 CHEAT SHEET ** Check it out to find out about **shift days**!_

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_**This is a shift day [see above].** There will be another upload this afternoon: Mystery Takeover, chapter 5._

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**"Morning & Afternoon"  
Shelby & Beth, Emmett & Joanie (OC), Shelby/Emmett  
Shelby & Beth series  
_(all series are listed under the communities tab in my profile)_**

Joanie had been warned that she should go to sleep early, but she wanted to stay and help them. There were still so many things to be done before their day was done, and in the morning things would get even more hectic. In the morning, they were moving… twice. The movers would arrive bright and early and empty out the Tepley house, taking everything to the new house, and in the afternoon, they would then come and empty the Corcoran house, and take those things to the new house as well. By the end of that day, they should all be moved in together.

Joanie had insisted on staying, and in the morning when they woke her, she had a face so sour they would call her Lemon. But still she got up. Her task was to stay with Beth, keep her out of harm's way while everything was being moved out, keep her and Panda the dog entertained. She had gone with her sister and the dog and got coffee, juice, pancakes and waffles, brought them back for all of them to eat as quick as they could before the movers arrived.

With all of them sitting there amid the boxes and the furniture taken apart, it was hard to imagine months had gone by already since they'd bought the house, and since Shelby and Emmett had gotten engaged. They had both decided that they needed to get done with one big project – the double move – before they could start and consider the other big project, which was the wedding. So on that front not a lot had happened. Still, just because the wedding wasn't happening yet, it didn't mean they were on a standstill either. As heart catching as it could be to start using these new words with each other… mother, daughter, sister, father… now it could seem to the casual observer like that was what they had always been.

"Joanie, that's not them yet, finish eating," Emmett smirked, seeing how she would look over her shoulder every time she heard anything that might have been the moving van.

"I know," she pushed her hair back behind her ear, still balancing Beth in her lap as she fed both herself and the small blonde. She was growing into a steadier walker every day, and with all the boxes and things out of place, they couldn't let her wander off and risk getting hurt. She had finished with Beth, and just as she was chewing on her last bite, there came the horn. "That's them!" she announced, mouth full of pancake, scooping up the squealing Beth and dashing off, Panda on her heels.

As much as she wanted to be able to follow around and see everything, for Beth's sake she had agreed to go and sit on the lawn outside and watch them load the truck. She had her bag by her side, carrying anything she might need to keep her sister and their dog happy. She had a book to read to Beth, though at times she would get distracted, watching the movers, and would be brought back to focus by Beth batting her arms about. Joanie would laugh and keep reading. When Panda would get restless, Joanie had some snacks handy to give the growing pup.

For their part, Shelby and Emmett were inside, keeping an eye on the movers as they carried out everything. As rooms would start getting empty, they would go in, pass a broom, clean the windows… it was the least they could do. Before long, there was nothing left to do… the house was empty. Joanie came back in with Beth and Panda, to say goodbye to her old house. Emmett hugged her, knowing as much as she was saying she was okay with this, part of her would miss the place… he would, too.

After that, it was time to drive to the new house and help with the unloading, directing what they could from room to room. The living room would receive the bulk of the boxes, to be sorted later. To make the sorting easier, Emmett's boxes all had a big blue dot, and Shelby's boxes would have a yellow one – Joanie's idea.

Again she had gone and gotten them food, now for lunch. She did know the neighborhood, as it wasn't that far off from her boyfriend's house, and she soon returned with their meals. "How are you doing, tired?" Shelby asked her, brushing the hair from her face, making her smile.

"I'm okay," she promised.

"You know I had them put your bed together, if you want to take a nap before we drive back there."

"If I go to sleep now, I won't wake up until tomorrow," Joanie shook her head. "I'm okay, mom," she insisted.

"Alright, alright," Shelby smirked.

Soon they were driving back to her house, letting the movers in to now start emptying this one. It was weird to think how little time they would have ended up staying there in the long run, but how many important things had happened there. It could have been hard to leave it, but the way Shelby saw it, she was trading it in for so many more good memories that would be made in the new house. So, once again, they began their routine of following the emptying of rooms to dust and wash, while the girls and Panda waited on the lawn. The day was wearing on all of them, and at one point Emmett had called Shelby up to the window to look down and see. Panda was curled up sleeping on the lawn, and so was Beth, in Joanie's arms, while the girl looked ready to nod off.

"She's never going to make it past dinner," he shook his head, and Shelby laughed.

"We're just about done here, why don't I take them to the house?"

"Yeah, good idea," he told her, giving her arm a squeeze. "How are you doing?"

"I'm not looking forward to tomorrow morning," she told him, stretching aching limbs.

"You're not going to make it past dinner, either," he teased and she 'glared' at him before heading out. She wasn't going to get sappy about leaving the place, she'd made her peace, but still… After loading the girls and Panda into the car and pulling out on to the street, she had to look at it, and Emmett's old house as well, and recognize that she would miss both those places. But then she had driven away, looking ahead, thinking of their new home.

Beth had been put in her crib, and with little coaxing, Joanie had gone to bed as well. With nothing better to do, Shelby had started moving some things around, from what had already been delivered. She got to cleaning where she could, seeking out things they might need to get a hold of on this first night and first morning. In the days that would follow there would be all the unpacking, but they weren't there yet.

Joanie slept right through the arrival of the truck and Emmett with the things from Shelby's house, through all the unloading and distribution of items, and through the departure of the movers, which left them all, the Corcorans and the Tepleys, officially moved in together to their new home. They had ordered a pizza, leaving a couple of slices for their daughter, in case the smell woke her, but she was solid in the land of sleep.

"It's done," Shelby breathed, realizing, looking at Emmett with a smile.

"Yes, it is," he nodded, paused. "How exhausted are you?"

"I could sleep three days," she admitted immediately. He held up four fingers and she laughed. "Let's just start with one," she got up, putting the leftover pizza in the refrigerator, and holding her hand out to him.

"Let's go see our room," he agreed.

"Just to warn you, I'm going to be sleeping about two seconds after my head hits the pillow," she told him as they climbed the stairs.

"You and me both."

THE END

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**A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
****In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
****always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!**


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